


Likewise

by foxpoet



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: AU, Abusive Relationships, Alternate Universe - College/University, F/M, Fluff, Implied/Referenced Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Non-Consensual, Rape, Slice of Life, Smut, The rest of the 104th Training Corps, dark shit
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-01-05
Updated: 2015-01-28
Packaged: 2018-03-05 10:58:56
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,668
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3117659
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/foxpoet/pseuds/foxpoet
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A fresh start was all it took to bound two troubled soulmates together as they leave their pasts behind.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

 

**_Likewise_**

_Fresh Start_

* * *

 

 **T** he sundown displayed a myriad of colours on the almost nightly sky. A lone, black haired girl, dressed in a pair of blue jeans, a white hoodie with kanji for _likewise_ embedded on its front, the grey scarf loosely hung at her neck. She was dozing off, that much she knew. One small baggage stood at her feet and she held its handle tight while the other hand was securely wrapped around her smartphone.

Glancing side-ways she retracted the white headphones, a signalling pain supported the idea of getting hit off by a headache. Now, she wouldn't want that, not when she was stuck in this terminal, waiting for Gods knew how long. As she took the display of her phone in once again, the twitter name read as _Mikasa_ was etched next to a photo profile of hers.

The now-identified girl as Mikasa never thought she'd have the chance to finish both high school and college on the other side of the ocean, in America to be more precise. The land of dreams as they called it, her passing friends, so to speak. Their friendship lasted as long as an episode of a small, animation-type of video on a popular streaming and video-watching service, courtesy of two random guys who gave it away to a major searching engine nowadays. Maybe she was exaggerating, but Mikasa didn't care. It was true after all.

She never liked friendships and heavily disagreed the idea relationship. Why? The grey eyed girl didn't know. It wasn't like she had time for those activities, no. She had enough 'friends' on multiple socialization networks and what not, thus deeming that having a social life in the real world isn't viable at all. Firstly, true friends are hard to come by, more so to find. Secondly, the idea of hanging out with the _lively_ bunch wasn't her cup of tea. Those good-for-nothing, degrading teenagers that are spending their parent's money on illegal things such as drugs, alcohol and cigarettes even though they were under-age.

Her classmates, or the _shitty folks_ as that was what she liked to call them. During her late middle school years, Mikasa, being the frail girl she appears to be, was often subject to her colleague's harassment and some went as far as to paint her apartment's door in more than three fucking colours. Bright colours at that, may she add. They, the assholes, expected the girl to stomp off or jump at them but Mikasa, a calm-minded person with a coolly attitude ignored the commotion and entered her apartment with ease, shrugging as the rivulets of colour fell onto the cold ground, the clean floor splattered, the dripping paint creating palettes and palettes and off her hands. She thought that they were going to laugh, shout and try to unleash mayhem on the two walls surrounding her small door's apartment but they left, no trace of their presence left at the crime scene.

She sighed. Laughter could be heard around, children playing in the background as her surreal grey eyes surveyed the terminal room, watching them with a lazed expression. She was fond of children, she really was. Mikasa was appointed as a baby-sitter by her neighbours a few months ago when they have to leave for whatever charity event they were invited to. She couldn't care less about that, but when she heard that their children were going to be alone for the entire night, Mikasa didn't have the heart to leave them alone. The teen remembers how she and their youngest child, Aiko, a small, chestnut haired girl with azure eyes braided their hair while the oldest, Etsuko, of the age of ten spurted non-sense about some serial that played in the living room, nearly shouting his heart out when an action scene unfolded in front of his brown eyes. A small smile formed on Mikasa's face as she watched the little girl join her older brother on the couch, mouths wide agape at the protagonist who barely escaped the sudden explosion.

" _Mikasa-san! Did you see that, ne?_ " The excitement shown on their faces was rapidly increasing almost daring her to oppose their rightness.

She frowned at them, fake apathy filling her stony face. " _That's child's play. Watch this!_ " In that very moment, she jumped above them, nearly spinning into the air and breaking several vases if it wasn't for her unearthly grace to which she avoided in succession the two wide-eyed children on the large and white couch. She managed to land next to the boy and put him into a fake headlock, his sister joining the fray and playfully attacking their "unexpected" traitor. By then, the laughter overcame the TV's speakers, no doubt filled with plain monologues and boring dialogues.

" _How do you like me now, huh?_ " A few seconds later the laughter nearly died out, save for a few giggles now and then. What Mikasa didn't expect was the sudden sentence coming from a random character in the background.

" _Savoy!_ " The character shouted their battle cry, and the children lurched forward towards a confused Mikasa. The tickling war officially begun, they all thought at the same time. She used a nearby pillow to guard one side while the other was against the couch, the kids trying to get a tickle in but the black haired girl was faster as she hoisted the pillow behind her and pulling the struggling duo onto the couch, they nearly fell off the couch as she endlessly tickled them.

She cherished this moment. She couldn't really remember her family, not that she tried to anyway. Not anymore. Before she could shake the train of thoughts in her head, Mikasa felt a hand rested on her shoulder.

"Excuse me miss, but we are going to depart in less than a minute." She looked up at the figure in front of her and the first thing that she saw took her breath away. His turquoise eyes glimmered in the artificial light. His messy brown hair perfectly framed his features, the black jacket was unzipped, displaying a grey shirt underneath which matched his stunning eyes. Her eyes drifted off to his hand and she noticed his black skinny jeans and the champagne-coloured smartphone in his other hand.

As she lifted herself from her seat, she couldn't help but yawn and stretch before muttering a small thanks and leaving the boy in a rush. Before she could hand the expensive tickets in, the same hand from before snatched both hers and his tickets and rapidly handed them to the female attendant.

"What are you doing?" She hissed under her breath and he shrugged, pushing her forward.

"Speeding up the process I guess?"

" _Mataku…_ "

"What?" _Oh._

"Nothing, nothing."

* * *

They finally boarded the plane and surprisingly enough, they were seated next to each-other. Oh, the joy of being stuck with _him_. She could feel the excitement seep out of her skin, or not. Sighing, she pushed the headphones back into her ears and leaned into the window, not before shuffling through songs though. Her grey eyes darted to him and she immediately regretted the decision. He was watching her with his green eyes of his, a boyish grin threatening to split his face. Taking advantage of the situation they were in, she shook her head and relaxed into her seat.

Meanwhile, the boy's breath was taken away by the girl sitting next to him. Her beautiful black fair flowed below her shoulders, stopping at her shoulder blades and he could swear that he never saw such a shade of grey her eyes held in his entire life. But he knew that he was an idiot, though. He didn't even introduce himself and yet he was staring at her like some kind of a creep.

His name was Eren, Eren Jaeger. An aspiring writer based from Germany, who lived in America and had been moved by his father to Tokyo for two entire years, due to the other talent Eren seemed to possess. And that is drawing, a passion that freed both your mind and soul, cleared your misplaced thoughts and filled blank papers with different ideas. Being stuck in Tokyo, he learned Japanese although he went to an English high-school, the sophomore and junior years spent in never-ending classes and strict people destroying his care-free attitude. Grisha Jaeger, his father, was very demanding of him. He was a renowned doctor and Eren had to comply with whatever wish his father had. It didn't help that his mother, of Japanese descent dragged him along to charity events. Carla Jaeger, a loving mother and a beautiful wife.

Eren wanted to laugh out-loud as he remembered the words they used to describe his parents. They died in a car crash over a year ago and since then, he was never the same. Closing himself in, abandoning any source of socialization. Things have gotten out of control since they died. He suddenly had to stay awake every night so he could watch over everything, make sure that he would organize papers by their correct folder, type endless amounts of words into every document he had to submit the day later because what his parent's bestowed upon him was not the easiest job in the world. And the subject of school, oh God, only he knows how many days he slept through periods or simply skipped them, being too tired to even move an inch of his body.

Sighing, he took the phone out of his pocket and slid the jack of the headphones into his phone while putting them back in his ears. The music is a way of escaping this plane, at least for him. To think that he'd rather skip every single concert his friends and mother brought him tickets to, giving them to strangers on the street instead. Not that he regretted his choice, the musicians were not of his liking anyway. The green-eyed teen then dozed off to sleep, the phone loosely hanging off the edge of his jeans while Eren's ears were filled with sounds of all kinds.

* * *

A few hours later, he found the seat next to him empty. He was confused, where was she? This plane wouldn't take detours, it is a straight course to America. And then it hit him, the bathroom.

He groaned. Since when did he care about strangers? Well, the sudden interest was sparked by the way she held herself, a cold façade meaning to scare anyone close to five meters around her. Eren bet it did wonders. Ah, here she is.

"Morning, beautiful." She nearly choked as she looked at him in confusion, then irritation.

Meaningfully kicking his legs, he retracted them and she almost dashed to the window seat, her hands crossed under her chest.

"Ow! That hurt."

"Mind your business." Wow. So cold.

Deciding to ignore her remark, he thought of introducing himself but quickly discarded the idea. "So… why did you leave Japan?"

She turned to look at him, grey staring into green. "I could, so why not?" Eren could tell that she wasn't that good at talking in English but then again, the spelling was different from what she was used to and her accent was quite funny, not that he'd tell her that.

"Hmm… studying abroad."

"How did you guess?" He shrugged.

"It's obvious we are around the same age, isn't it?" She chose not to respond and he sighed in frustration.

"Look, we are going to be stuck next to each-other for the next twenty hours and I'm not in the mood to do nothing." He spoke in a harsh tone but she wasn't fazed at all.

"Fine, but I am not too good with English."

"That won't be a problem, _ma chérie_." She punched him in the arm, _hard_.

To which he responded with a groan with his, although he couldn't hide his smile. "I'm Eren, Eren Jaeger. Pleased to meet you." He extended his hand, still smiling.

Seeing no point in arguing with him and seeing the logic in his point, she smiled a small smile and shook his hand. " _Likewise_. My name is Mikasa, Mikasa Ackerman."

"Sheesh, you don't have to be so cold, you know?" And so they both smiled, chatting animatedly for more than a few hours, the obscure corrections from Eren's part as she struggled with English but he tides were turned when they switched to Japanese as they both tried to hold in their laughter. In the end, Mikasa fell asleep against his shoulder while Eren rested his head onto hers, taking in her scent. She smelled of strawberry, just as she said.

Holding a small laugh, he drifted off to sleep.

 


	2. ひとつ

_**Likewise** _

_ひとつ_

* * *

**W** alking down countless of boulevards remembered her of Tokyo. They could compare in terms of color. But that didn't matter. Nothing did nowadays. She just kept on walking. The ravenette kept on walking ahead. Glancing sideways was never worth it. More so backwards.

That was probably because broken people don't see the world as the others see it. Whereas a happy human may see nothing out of the ordinary in a flower, the broken person will see life instead.

This is how it worked. Branches such as depression _helped_ that way of thinking as well. It was a fucking tragedy. The lot of it. Many thoughts, heavy. Think, think. _No._

 _Stop._ The lone thought echoed in the depths of her mind. She supposed that having a clear mind was a luxury she currently couldn't afford. Firstly, rent- no, scratch that. She didn't even have an apartment to pay rent _for_ yet and by the looks of the sky, it'd darken rather soon.

Mikasa strolled again. Fulfilled but not. A desperate thought lingered at the back of her mind. _Call that friend of yours_ , it whispered. _He'd be able to help, right?_ Right. Like a stranger would ever lend a hand. _But he seemed nice._ Her thoughts resonated. Who was she kidding? The guy was all laughter and sunshine. Her eyes danced throughout the whole avenue, searching for some sort of sign or maybe a restaurant. _Yes, a restaurant would do._

Moments later, she didn't blink as she got her breath kicked out of her. The stranger knocked her over. What an ass. "Excuse me, miss!"

That voice, it couldn't be? "It's okay."

"M-Mikasa!" He breathed out in relief. Why so, though?

"Hello, Eren. Stalking me or what?" And then he laughed. Gods, that laugh. She relished in it so much.

"No, no. I actually wanted to get something to eat because my house's empty-" she put a finger to his lips, silencing him.

Instead of talking, she lured him into the crowd. Was she hiding? His eyes scanned throughout the whole clearing but the brunet was sure that no one was following them. Before he could ask anything, they were both seated at a booth next to the window. "Beautiful sight."

"Satirical comments, Eren."

"Tch."

She quickly flipped through the menu while he stared at her like she was something out of this planet. "Seems like the brown boy isn't all sunshine after all."

 _Hmph_ "And who told you that?" She smiled devilishly at him, as if endearing the green eyed boy to venture further.

"Your face?" She then dead-panned. Of course. _Way to ruin something, Eren._

He'd wonder about that later. But now, right now all he needed to know was-

"Order Eren." And her accent. Gods, if only she knew how she sounded.

Their orders eventually came by as they chatted again. "So, uh, how are you?"

"I'm fine." So cold. Where did the talkative Mikasa go?

"Have you had any luck in finding a place to stay?" Mikasa stiffened. She wanted to avoid the subject and here they go.

"No." Came her curt reply.

"Is that so?" Nervous laugh. "You can come and live with me, then!" She felt relieved and endangered at the same time. Seeing her look of distress, he schooled himself.

"Not like that!" He threw his arms in the air. "I'm going to sleep on the couch while you take my room."

The ravenette smiled in response. He felt relief wash over him.

A tinge of satisfaction tugged at his heart. "Thank you, but I can't impose myself on a stranger."

Her words hurt, they both knew that. All that Eren felt prior to her answer was all but gone.

Suddenly, she stood up. Throwing some money on the table, the last thing that his green eyes saw was her black hair.

 _Fucked up, huh?_ Sighing, Eren ate in silence and left the restaurant.

The walk to the apartment was rather short. Being a few blocks away from it certainly added its flair and the district was nice enough. The pavement crumbled at his feet as he walked, a sober air hanging around Eren. His headphones did their magic on him. He was surprised that he could even think while listening to music.

Of course he _could_ walk. No matter how unlikely the odds were stacked against him, the brunet always managed to come on top, not only crossing the line but obliterating them at the same time. Problems, the bullshit life hits you with every day as you manage to wake up at seven in the morning, put some clothes on, brush your teeth and rush to the subway station. A robot. That's what today's humans were. A fucking shameless group of lazy, idiotic robots.

That's how Eren saw his kin though. Life in Tokyo can't treat you right if you aren't right. Staying faithful never worked. Not even if he tried. He couldn't stay faithful to his parent's wishes and that hurt the green-eyed boy to some extent.

He finally reached his destination. As he swung the door open, the teen dove into the kitchen. The small refrigerator door opened with a creak as he picked a bottle of water up. Gulping it a few times, he finishes and lands a smooth throw in the trashcan. Satisfied with himself, the couch is his to be taken.

The way he saw it was simple. He felt attracted to her, for some reason and the teen had a knack that she was silently reciprocating his feelings. And then he snorted. And fully-blown laughter erupted, its melodic tone echoing throughout the entire living room. How could he, a fucked-up, depressed orphan even begin to contemplate the mere, innocent thought of her even considering Eren as a potential lover?

"Bullshit." And then he laughed. Again and again. If not only to further harm himself. _I don't like you I don't like you I don't like y-_

Rolling and tossing, his cries were muffled by pillows and blankets. He needed another leeway. Just one.

And so he stood up, grabbed his running gear and headed out of his comfortable apartment into the chilly night. Running was one of his favorite hobbies. The green-eyed boy freed himself of every single thought each time he ran.

 _It'll go away, right?_ But it didn't dare to even budge. His feelings went haywire since last night and he's barely slept since. Most likely trying to meditate as the nightly lights took over his room's walls. Eren's eyes glided over across the street. It was empty. He was content with no one bothering him, as he wandered into the night.


	3. ふたつ

_**Likewise** _

_ふたつ_

* * *

**A** nother sunrise spent wandering. Just walking around, trying to find his place into this world. He would never think of ever finding closure in aimlessly strolling at nights. The senior year was approaching, though. Problems and problems will surface, he will defy his sacred ways. Skipping will be his favorite class this semester and the next one, no doubt.

Running a wet hand through his messy, disheveled hair, he sighed again. What was he going to do? He technically was an adult, as Japan's and other countries cultures dictate but due to America's cultural and social approaches, he was nothing more than an orphaned child. There was a plus to this all, in his favor, for he had money. Not a lot, if he were to be honest with himself, but enough to sustain himself for a long, long time.

Aiding charities was out of the list. From what he had about this forsaken country, the funds directed towards the location of the charity's event were about 10% out of its full extent. So, as a matter of fact, he may as well support in any way he could via the Internet.

Setting himself on a nearby bench, the lecherous grin that yesterday was displayed all over his face disappeared. Eren's green eyes were hollow, their bright pigment inside the irises shining gone with the wind.

_I shouldn't have worn the running gear._

He frowned and after a few minutes of rest, the brunet started running into the direction he came from. One shower and a warm bed was all that he needed. The night was all but gone from the sky, blue replaced with orange, the small yet huge moon unraveling itself in others part of this planet. The sun was rather bright in the morning as the summer came to an end. He had ten more days of flunking around before school started.

They were enough. Losing the momentum, he reached his destination. From what Eren could see, the lights were still on. Shit. Was he that messy? He supposed that the answer was  _fucking_  yes. The green-eyed boy didn't even bother with sighing and entered the complex in a rush. A windy night such as this one was more than enough to lower one's body temperature, not to say that he'd run for more than two hours, not once stopping to catch his breath.

He had years and years of experience. After his parents death, between having to deal with business affairs thanks to his family's company and school, Eren found a remedy to all the stress that endlessly hung around him, nagging at him in a way that would make someone go insane.

And this remedy was running and going to the gym. He rarely thought of even running, let alone hitting the gym. There were days when he blacked out on the street or at the gym but never once did he give up. After being woken up by passersby or random members at the club. His way of living was an entire mess. He rarely slept, with the occasional one or two hours of napping around in the house before leaving for school at seven in the morning, hoping to catch the train in time. The class hours ended at three in the after-noon which gave him plenty of time to finish homework and sans or write reports and documents for what-was-to be  _his_  company. It was usually seven or eight p.m. by the time he was done and then he went to gym with the occasional longer than usual stroll which turned into jogging and then running towards home. Taking a quick shower and grabbing something to eat once he arrived, Eren would either use his computer, laptop or phone to read some books or stories. The drawing tablet was his dearest friend in the evenings and at nights, with most of the sketches going straight to _hell_ as he dubbed the removal button.

Paper has never been an exception to him. Although every single teacher inched on him at school demanding that they see what he's drawing and writing, the brown haired teen always refused, protesting. His course of actions unfortunately sprouted into the teacher's ways of calling him a liar and mocking his sense of art,  _or lack thereof_  as they stupidly thought. Shaming in Japan was a must in their culture. If you were lazy, you could say good-bye to a normal social life. But if you happened to be found hard-working among your peers, you'd be deemed as a good, perfect individual of their fucked-up and yet effective society.

On the other side of the world, America was the complete opposite of the country he lived in for as long as he could remember. People never cared about others and individualism was a key item to success. But he wouldn't budge. Why would he care about that?

His mother always said that he was different from the start. Why would he change his  _sacred ways_?

Turning off the shower, rivulets of water streamed down onto the cold floor of his bathroom. His whole body ached, sleep was demanded and he couldn't bring himself to care enough about that. He'll pass out in less than two or three hours anyway so why hurry?

Sighing for the umpteenth time, he grabbed a white t-shirt and a pair of blue shorts. Carefully setting an early breakfast, he silently contemplated on his thoughts as he ate. Eren wondered what Mikasa's doing right now. Was she safe? Did she find a place to stay? What school was she assigned to in the student-exchange program? Her grey eyes flashed into his mind. By gods, she was perfect. Her pale complexion, jet-black hair and her red lips… he frowned. They just met, didn't they? Why was he attracted to a stranger? The brunet remembered his mother's saying.

_Love can be found in the strangest of places, Eren._

But he couldn't care less at the time and that cost him, a lot.

Shaking his head in defeat, he knew that worrying will bring him nowhere. He stood up, dropping the dish into the sink and leaving the kitchen, hurried by sudden urges. The green-eyed boy finally surrendered to his earthly desires and succumbed to sleep on the hard, icy ground of his living room.

* * *

 _Where have I gone wrong with this decision? What went_ _**wrong** _ _?_

She shivered for the hundredth time tonight. Mikasa's grey eyes were glued to the lake in front of her. A small baggage lay near her cold feet. The cardigan she was wearing was warm enough and she was thankful for that. But her knee-high socks and her black skirt could only provide so much warmth on a chilly night.

She cursed. Plans were never supposed to go wrong. That was what she was taught by life after the painstaking incident that took everything away from her. Mikasa didn't longer on dark thoughts any longer and instead, she diverted to more important, necessary thoughts of the present. Motivated by her resolve, she was sure that she'd find a place to stay soon. A roof under her head was all she needed. It kept on like a mantra into her head.

_Don't give up Don't give up Don't give u-_

A voice erupted in the windy air. "Excuse me."

She brushed a stray strand from her clouded eyes and looked to the newcomer. "How may I help you with?" The ravenette thanked the Gods that she read a bit more of that English dictionary yesterday.

"You've taken my place." She had a dumbstruck look on her face.

"Don't look at me like that." A small frown appeared on his sharp features. She noticed that he was short in stature, with black hair just like hers and grey intimidating eyes. He wore nothing but a leather jacket and some black jeans with casual sneakers to complete the attire.

"I'm sorry I-" He dismissed her with a wave of his hand. "Don't. My name is Levi, mind if I sit next to you?"

She was cautious. Her eyes searched their vicinity and it seemed that they were alone. What if he was dangerous and-

"Believe me, miss, if I was any of what you're thinking you'd been long gone by now." Mikasa was strangely comforted and shaken by what he just said.

Gathering her breath, she told him his name. "Mikasa."

She thought she saw his eyes widen for a second. "I see. Are you by any chance, from Japan? Your accent is giving you away, by the way."

"Yes, yes I am." He stiffened. Why was he acting weird?

"Why are you alone in the middle of the night, sitting on a cold bench on a cold night?"

"I… don't know. Maybe this was just a mistake."

"What was a mistake?" Levi wondered out-loud, but he already knew the answer.

"Coming to this place. I am a  _gaijin_."

He once again stiffened as she ended her phrase and sighed. "Keep those petty words of yours in the back of your head, young lady. You're not in Japan anymore and no one here is an outsider. It's basically a free land, as they advertise it and you'd better treat it as it is."

She supposed he was right. The confidence she felt steel a few minutes ago flee and stay at the same time.

Mikasa suddenly stood up, bent on finding a place where they'd sell a cup of coffee, just so she could warm herself up and find a wireless spot. She had work to do as soon as possible.

Silently excusing herself, before leaving Levi said something she won't forget soon. "I hope you find what you're looking for." And with that, she disappeared into the dispersing night.

It was probably six in the morning by the time she arrived to this coffee shop. It wasn't too extravagant nor too shady. Perfect, if she had to put a word on it. The waitress kindly took her order and she retrieved her phone from her grey cardigan. She remembered the time when she went to buy herself her first phone. She was amazed by the variety of devices she had to choose from and marveled at the endless possibilities. Due to her financial state she currently was in and with the preparations she had to make to assure a safe route towards America, the ravenette had to forget her wishes and bought a watered version of the new phone a Korean company brought on the market. As co-leaders in the devices marketplace, they had a principal spectrum of smartphones which they were called flagships. Unfortunately she didn't buy the last flagship, but the second after the mentioned above. But Mikasa was pretty content with this one as well.

She was amazed by what this phone was capable of. Out of three possible color choices, she bought the less liked and least popular, black. The grey-eyed beauty for one, cared to wonder why people stuck to white and blue. It was stupid.

Just as she snapped out of her thoughts, the waitress came in with her order. She muttered a thanks and left the device on the desk, taking the warm cup of coffee in her hands. Taking a sip, she noticed that it was strong and just like she had ordered. The teen already begun liking this coffee shop and she barely knew its name. Sighing, she dismissed the annoying led light of her phone in the background as she gracefully took sip after sip out of her coffee. She really needed it at the moment.

* * *

He awoke with a groan. His back hurt like a bitch and his throat was hoarse. The need of water quickly surfaced as he dove into the kitchen. A spare bottle of water left on the counter was emptied in a blink and Eren threw it into the bin.

Making a dash for the bathroom, he finally took notice of the state he was in. The bags under his beautiful green eyes made them seem dull and he looked rather unkempt. Splashing water on his face, the boy searched in the cabinet for some vitamins and quickly arranged his hair.

He took a bite out of a left-over sandwich and took the vitamins in several swigs from a water-filled can. Quickly changing into something casual, and by casual he meant a pair of knee-long blue shorts and a light brown t-shirt.

Glancing at the clock, he was astounded by how much he slept. It was ten in the morning and he arrived at half past five. He remembered a quiet place across the street which served coffee and with a small look directed at the window, he smiled to himself and left the apartment.

By the time Eren had entered the coffee shop he noticed that it was quite empty, save for a black haired girl… he scrunched his eyes, focusing on her as the waitress tried to talk to him. Muttering a quick  _Good morning_ , he walked to the table the girl was situated at.

There was no mistake, she was Mikasa. The same grey eyes and emotionless expression. Mustering a bit of courage, he coughed when he reached her and she reluctantly glided her eyes from the phone. When she found his eyes, the ravenette gasped.

"Eren?"

"The one and only." He laughed. She missed his voice, even though she has seen him in the past twelve hours already.

"What are you doing here?" She questioned him, a silent glance directed at him asking a second question.

 _Are you stalking me?_ Luckily, he caught it. "Well, I just woke up and I needed a cup of coffee so I thought, why not visit this place?" He shrugged. "The question is, what are  _you_  doing here?"

The grey-eyed girl sighed and sneaked a look at him. He looked bad. "Ah… I'm searching for a place to stay and I need something to warm me up-"

She was interrupted by his loud, tired voice. "What are you trying to say is that you had to spend the night on the streets or in a park? Mikasa… you could have called me!"

"But…"

"No buts. You're coming with me and that's final."

Her eyes widened. "I can't-"

"Yes, yes you can. Come on now!" Snatching the baggage out of her hands, Eren quickly paid for her coffee and took her hands in his.

A single thought lingered in their mind as they entered the apartment,  _this is going to be a long day._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Quick chapter to get back into shape. I've tried to focus on the grammar on this one and I hope I've done a good job. Also, the midterm break is here, at least for me (quite early though, not that I'm complaining) and I'm going to write, read and write a lot these weeks.
> 
> I watched Ao Haru Ride and to say I'm happy would be an understatement. This anime is… perfect. I love it. Not trying to imply anything but I might or might not bring a romance sans angst multi-chaptered story for it. Koutaba (KouxFutaba), of course. Details will come soon, perhaps in the next chapter.
> 
> Anyway, I want to thank you for the views, favorites, follows and reviews. They mean a lot to me, they really do.
> 
> See you later.


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